Students break gender stereotypes in studies

As a male nursing student attending your clinical, it is not uncommon to be mistaken as a resident studying to be a doctor.

That is what happened to Isiah Sabalvaro, a senior nursing student.

siah Sabalvaro (pictured) said that he chose nursing because of his interest in healthcare and he sees other men doing the same.Sarah Yenesel/Photography Editor

He said this likely happened because of the “mentality of males being doctors.”

This is an assumption he said he feels was carried over into the nursing field. He said he did not want to become a doctor, partly due to time demands, but also because he wanted to get into healthcare and nursing appealed to him.

Sabalvaro said he believes that while there is still the stereotype of women being nurses, there are more and more men going into nursing.
Despite this field being dominated by females, he said that women face more discrimination than men. He said it is easier for males to advance and oftentimes they get paid more with the same jobs and experience as female nurses.

In general, he said he believes nursing is becoming more attractive to both men and women.

These shifting gender perceptions can also be seen in industries such as sports marketing.

Peyton Adams, a junior sports management, marketing and economics major, acknowledges that while she is interested in a male dominant industry, the tide is changing. She said she chose the major because she is passionate about sports.

When speaking about this growth of women in the industry, Adams said it, “gives us an advantage because, if we can get in there, there’s not many women to compete against and they’re going to want women in the industry.” She said that women are likely to expand into all facets of the industry, including marketing and sales.

“Gender roles are social constructs, but really I feel like society is losing the importance of them,” he said.

Bloom has seen more people being comfortable not following their societal gender roles as much as in the past. He said he is also excited to see more people in professions dominated by the other gender. Bloom said he believes that this is a change that is taking place, but it is a societal change that is going to take a while.